From the outset things
looked like they were beginning to settle down at The Jim Henson Company
with the buyback from EM.TV having been completed and new projects in
the works. However it soon became clear that more dramatic changes were
to come when Disney announced it had reached an agreement with Jim’s
children to purchase the Muppets along with “Bear in the Big Blue
House.” Elsewhere “Sesame Street” celebrated its 35th
birthday, Farscape returned to screens, and “Fraggle Rock”
began a long awaited resurgence.

JANUARY

It
was a great month for Muppet merchandise as Palisades Toys revealed that
the Henson Company was their “Licensor Partner of the Year”
and showed sneak photos from the UK Toy Fair of their series
9 action figures and backstage playset. The long running series of
Muppet Show busts from Sideshow-Weta came to an end with the release of
its fifth series. There were DVD releases for Sesame Street which included
a compilation of Cookie Monster’s “Best Bites” and for
the first time it was announced “Fraggle Rock” would appear
on DVD in April. Although this would be a UK only release the worldwide
fan campaign for Fraggle DVD’s continued to build. There were to
be celebrations for Sesame Street’s 35th
birthday in April with a special prime time episode called “The
Street We Live On.” Throughout their new season shows would include
new live action and animation sequences as well as parody characters like
“TriangleBob Trianglepants.”

FEBRUARY

The
Superbowl kicked off the month and along with it a new
Muppet commercial for Pizza Hut. The advert featured the Muppets having
a heated debate over which topping to order, with Jessica Simpson suggesting
they try new product innovation - the 4forALL Pizza. There was big news
for fantasy fans as it was announced several licensees had signed on to
produce a whole new range of collectibles for “The
Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth”. Products were to
include posters, apparel, collectible figures and more in the largest
Henson fantasy merchandise launch seen since the films debuted. It had
been talked about for nearly fifteen years but when news broke that The
Walt Disney Company had finally managed to acquire
the Muppets most fans were taken by surprise. The deal would see them
taking control of the Classic Muppets, Muppet Babies and Bear in the Big
Blue House characters as well as their related film and television programming.
Henson would continue to play a role in the Muppets future with a three-year
production and four-year consulting deal but there was speculation as
to how involved the company would be after this.

MARCH

Although
the project had long been in the works, Variety magazine carried reports
that Disney was going ahead with the production
of “The Muppet Wizard of Oz”. It would be a Telepic for
ABC, based on the original novel by L. Frank Baum. Following the success
of their Superbowl commercial it emerged that the Muppets would be working
again with Jessica Simpson. This time they would be guests on her ABC
television special “The Nick and Jessica
Variety Hour” joining in with wacky sketches and musical performances.
The Sesame Street Muppets also guest starred on prime time TV in March
for the first time ever. Elmo, Big Bird, Zoe and
Rosita appeared in “The West Wing” in an episode where
the First Lady films a public service announcement with the characters.
In merchandise news series
7 of Palisades Muppet action figures arrived in stores. The lineup
included Kermit as Captain Smollet, Beauregard, Johnny Fiama and Frog
Scout Robin.

APRIL

There
was exciting news for fans of Henson’s classic family properties
when a new five-year global rights and production
venture with HIT Entertainment was announced. This would see shows
like Fraggle Rock, Emmet Otter and The Ghost of Faffner Hall being given
a new lease of life as well as continued exposure for newer properties
like “The Hoobs” and “Mopatop’s Shop.” The
agreement would also see Henson and HIT join together to produce new children’s
shows. Following on from the success of “Good Boy”, The Jim
Henson Company also inked a two-year first-look
deal with MGM to produce more live action films. Science Fiction fans
were in for a rare treat as Brian Henson took part
in a special on-line chat organized by the Sci-Fi Channel in the US.
He was there to promote the upcoming four-hour Farscape mini-series “Peacekeeper
Wars” due to air in November. Towards the end of the month The Walt
Disney Company revealed that their acquisition
of the Muppets and “Bear in the Big Blue House” was complete.
New initiatives under consideration included live action releases, theatrical
productions, computer-generated three-dimensional animation projects and
attractions and parades at Disney’s theme parks. Sesame Street Season
35 began!

MAY

Muppet
fans went crazy for plush during this month as a whole range of new cuddly
toys were released. Plush Janice, Swedish Chef, Kermit and Animal were
available from Sababa Toys while a brand new Muppet Vision 3D Sam the
Eagle arrived at Disneyland California. The theme park also played host
to a “block party” as costumed Muppet characters took to the
stage in a special show called “Animal’s House Party.”
Carroll
Spinney received an honorary degree from Villanova University. As
commencement speaker he told of how he dreamed big as a child and realized
those dreams playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street. Sesame
Workshop, producers of the show also launched a campaign against childhood
obesity. Their “Healthy Habits for Life”
initiative would include two public service announcements and a traveling
museum exhibit on diet and exercise. Fans of the Muppets Pizza Hut commercials
were in for a treat as a new one aired, again featuring Jessica Simpson.
The new advert featured Animal, Gonzo, Miss Piggy and the long awaited
return of Camilla the Chicken.

JUNE

How
do you get to Sesame Street? Would you believe pass “GO” and
collect $200? America’s favorite street met America’s favorite
board game in June when the all-new MONOPOLY: Sesame
Street 35th Anniversary Collector’s Edition was released. HIT
Entertainment’s new distribution venture with the Henson Company
began to pay off already for fans when they announced the first
US Fraggle Rock DVD called “Where It All Began”. The disc
was to contain two episodes and be released in July, if sales were good
there were indications that more releases would follow. Congratulations
were in order for “Avenue Q”, the Broadway musical featuring
Muppet style Puppets and Henson related puppeteers. The fuzzy stage show
was the upset winner at the Tony awards taking home three awards including
best musical. There were rumors that Classic Sesame episodes as well as
a whole range of Henson family shows could return to television as early
as 2005. Sesame Workshop and HIT Entertainment were reported to be in
advanced negotiations with the Comcast to develop
the first 24-hour network dedicated to pre-school kids.

JULY

There
were further reports in July about “The Muppet
Wizard of Oz”. It was rumored the planned made-for-TV movie
would shoot in September and that the puppet building and costume departments
at Henson were busy preparing for the project. Kermit the Frog was to
play the Scarecrow, Fozzie the Cowardly Lion, Gonzo the Tin Man, Pepe
as Toto, and Miss Piggy taking on the roles of both the Wicked Witch of
the West and Glinda the Good Witch. There were also indications that auditions
were being held to recast some of Jerry Nelson’s Sesame Street and
Classic Muppet characters. Although the much-loved Muppeteer would continue
to perform the Count his workload was to be reduced as he began a semi-retirement.
Palisades Toys, creators of the award winning Muppet action figure series
shipped their eighth
wave to retailers. Marvin Suggs, Sam the Eagle, Usher Scooter and
Dr Phil Van Neuter were all among the line-up.

AUGUST

The
United States postal service announced their 2005
stamp releases and ten Muppet characters were honored as part of a
series called “Jim Henson & The Muppets.” Creator Henson
would also be featured on a stamp and be pictured on the sheet’s
selvage. It was a super month for Grover fans as the Sesame Street favorite
received his own DVD release called “Grover - Celebration of Me.”
The cast was announced for “The Muppet Wizard
of Oz.” International R&B star Ashanti would play Dorothy
while Queen Latifah would play her Auntie Em. Fans were surprised to hear
that action film director Quentin Tarrantino would be making a cameo as
himself. A Henson film festival was announced by the Brooklyn Academy
of Music for November. The event would celebrate Jim Henson’s work,
featuring classic Muppet, Fraggle, & fantasy favorites and rarely
seen footage, along with talks by Henson collaborators and puppet-building
workshops for kids. Henson was also to be honored by Palisades Toys in
the form of an action figure likeness of the Jim Henson Muppet to be released
later in the year. They released pictures of the packaging during August
which was in the form of a special red curtain window box. Fraggle fans
received news from Sababa Toys that a Mokey Fraggle plush was to be made.

SEPTEMBER

Johnny
Fiama and his monkey pal Sal made their usual yearly appearance on the
Jerry Lewis Telethon. Also featured was Bear from “Bear in the Big
Blue House” performing a brand new song for the occasion. Kermit
and Miss Piggy were also in the limelight this month when they interviewed
Hollywood stars on the red carpet in “Countdown to the Emmys.”
Fans also began to count down to the debut of an all-new Muppets.com
website as a preview page displayed a special timer. Supporters of the
Fraggle Rock DVD fan campaign were delighted to hear rumors that HIT Entertainment
were considering following up their earlier release with a full season
one set possibly by the next fall. Joe Raposo, a gifted music composer
who had died in 1989 and had worked on “Sesame Street” was
to be honored in a new children’s book called
“A Boy and his Music.” News broke that Palisades Toys
range of Muppet action figures and playsets would come to an end at retail
stores with series
nine. Any releases from then on would be mail order exclusives with
some being made available at conventions. Yet another new Muppet Pizza
Hut commercial began to air. The advert featured Miss Piggy rock climbing
on Mount Rushmore to tell the Presidents about the benefits of the 4forALL
Pizza.

OCTOBER

The
Jim Henson Company website - Henson.com
was relaunched in early October with the noticeable absence of any Muppet
related content. This was due to the sale of the property to Disney earlier
in the year. Henson Films unveiled the trailer for their upcoming feature
film “Five Children and It” featuring the voice of Eddie Izzard.
The rumored cable TV venture between Sesame Workshop,
HIT Entertainment and Comcast was also confirmed this month. Over
50 hours of pre-school programming would be available via video on demand
from early 2005 with a 24/7 digital cable channel being launched in the
fall. As the first single disc US Fraggle Rock DVD’s began to arrive
in niche retail outlets HIT Entertainment announced a wider
national release for January which would include a second release
called “Dance Your Cares Away.” They also promised to launch
a grassroots marketing campaign to offer the online fan base bonuses like
screensavers, downloads, games and Web-exclusive collectibles. The highlight
of the month was the premiere of Sci-Fi mini-series “Farscape:
The Peacekeeper Wars.” The series had been cancelled the previous
year and this special aimed to bring the adventures of John Crichton and
Aeryn Sun to a thundering climax.

NOVEMBER

In
a month packed full of Muppety fun and surprises Disney
re-launched Muppets.com - the characters flagship website. As the
site went live Chris Curtin, general manager and vice president of the
Muppet Holding Company announced that the occasion marked the first day
of the Muppets being back. The build up to the holiday season began and
Palisades Toys certainly delivered. Not only were their series
9 action figures and backstage playset released but also the limited
edition Jim Henson Muppet figure. To follow was the Santa Swedish Chef
figure, a special seasonal exclusive in partnership with eBay. The best
news came towards the end of the month at the “Muppets,
Music and Magic: Jim Henson’s Legacy” event in New York.
Henson writer and historian Craig Shemin announced that Disney would be
releasing season-by-season box sets of "The
Muppet Show" on DVD from summer 2005. He was interviewed there
along with Jerry Juhl, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Carroll Spinney, Michael
Frith and other Henson employees and fans for bonus material on the discs.

DECEMBER

During the
month an article in the Hollywood Reporter gave fans an
insight into Disney’s plans for the Muppets. It said that the
initial focus would be on getting today’s audiences reacquainted
with the classic characters rather than brand extensions like the “Muppet
Babies.” It was also revealed that Disney's Muppets unit had already
held three "summits" with the parks and resorts division alone,
discussing
how to maximize synergy between the Muppets and Disney's parks, cruise
line, etc. The latest issue of Toyfare confirmed rumors of the next step
in Palisades Toys range of Muppet products. Beginning next summer, they
would be making Sesame Street action figures, Palz
block figures and collectable display environments. For those who
can’t wait that long they also announced a Super Grover exclusive
tour figure debuting at the Wizard World LA comic convention in March.
Ending the year on a festive note the Muppets appeared on the ABC network’s
annual airing of the Walt Disney World Christmas parade and guest starred
on Saturday Night Live.

Fan site Muppet Central created by Phillip Chapman. Updates by Muppet
Central Staff. All Muppets, Bear characters are copyright
of The Muppets Studio. Sesame Street characters are copyright of Sesame
Workshop.
Fraggle Rock, Creature Shop and similar likenesses are copyright
of The Jim Henson Company.
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